It wasn’t long before Agatha was swept off her feet by Archibald Christie, a Royal Flying Corps pilot, one of those “daring in young men in their flying machines.” She also certified as an apothecary-knowledge she put to ingenious use later. She started writing while working at a hospital dispensary, in the long wait between filling prescriptions. With the advent of World War I, Agatha became a nurse. “And then suddenly one morning, it had happened, England was at war.” Agatha was home-schooled by her mother and left to roam the grounds of Ashfield. He was a moneyed American who didn’t have a head for money.Ĭlarissa managed as best she could after his death. When Agatha was eleven, her father died painfully of multiple heart attacks brought on by financial problems. One of the luckiest things that can happen to you in life is to have a happy childhood.
She fell into a deep depression, crying for no reason, forgetting how to sign a check. No doubt she went through clothing and photos, reminders of growing up in Torquay, a lovely English seaside town:
The task proved too much to tackle alone. Agatha stayed behind to sort out her mother’s affairs at Ashfield, the family home.
In the year before her disappearance, Agatha Christie lost her beloved mother, Clarissa, while her husband Archie was working in Spain.Īrchie returned after the funeral and suggested Agatha forget her duties and come away with him. Agatha found his cavalier attitude “very hard to bear when you have lost a person who is one of three you love best in the world.” She declined.Īrchie left on holiday and, unknown to Agatha, started an affair with his former secretary.